Visited the Tri-Cities area of south-central Washington (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco) in order to visit some wildlife refuges in the area. Stayed a few days at an Army Corps of Engineers campground along the Snake River. Part of the McNary Wildlife Refuge is right next to the campground. Saw the Kingfisher above in a marsh area there.
It is the season to start seeing osprey nests.
Below, a coyote in the refuge.
Next drove through Hanford Reach National Monument. The Hanford Site is where Plutonium reactors were built in 1943 to make the atom bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. The reactors are now inactive and being dismantled. The Site is on the Columbia River and a wide area of land around it that served as a security buffer is now the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.
There was a severe wind alert throughout Washington and parts of Oregon and Idaho. I drove on to Toppenish to stay till they passed. The winds really shook my trailer and blew open the heavy cover on the bed of my truck. Luckily, the farmland I was parked next to had a crop growing on it, so I didn’t get a lot of topsoil blown my way.
Above, a California quail at the Toppenish Wildlife Refuge.
Below, northeast Oregon farmland along I-84. It snowed a little past where this picture was taken. Enjoyed the drive along the I-84, with all it’s rest stops.
Great photos. Considering it a “trailer” on what I can expect when I arrive in the area in June.